At least five people were killed and 25 others were injured when a 22-year-old gunman stormed into an LGBTQ nightclub in Colorado Springs, Colorado, just before midnight on Saturday. He then opened fire before being approached and stopped by clubgoers, according to authorities on Sunday. Colorado Springs Police Chief Adrian Vasquez said the shooter at Club Q has been identified as Anderson Lee Aldrich. Two guns were discovered at the scene.
Vasquez reported, at least two club patrons confronted and fought the shooter, stopping any further damage. Police underlined Club Q's connection to the LGBTQ community and said they were looking into whether the attack was a case of hate crime.
Club Q sent a statement on social media in which it expressed its devastation at the senseless attack in the community and appreciated "the quick reactions of heroic customers that subdued the gunman and ended this hate attack."
In remembrance of the victims of the tragic shooting, Gov. Jared Polis ordered flags to be displayed at half-staff at all state-owned facilities starting on Monday through Saturday, according to a press release from his office. Also, Club Q posted that the establishment will be closed until further notice.
The shooting occurred on Sunday, the first day of Transgender Day of Remembrance, and it is similar to the 2016 attack in Orlando, Florida, on an LGBTQ nightclub, in which a gunman who vowed loyalty to the Islamic State killed 49 people and injured at least 53 others.
The violence lasted only a few minutes. Numerous 911 calls were made beginning at 11:56 p.m., officers were dispatched at 11:57 p.m., an officer arrived at midnight, and the subject was apprehended at 12:02. Police stated 39 patrol officers responded, while Fire Department Captain Mike Smaldino said 11 ambulances were dispatched to the location.
Authorities initially reported 18 injuries but later revised that figure to 25. Colorado Springs Mayor John Suthers said on Sunday that 19 of the 25 injured had gunshot wounds. As per police, the suspect is being treated at a hospital, officers did not shoot at him.
Some of the most horrifying mass shootings in U.S. history have taken place in Colorado, including the 1999 Columbine High School shooting and the 2012 Aurora movie theater incident. Three people were killed in a mass shooting at a Planned Parenthood in Colorado Springs in November 2015, and six people were killed during a birthday party there in 2016. More than 600 mass shootings, which are defined as incidents in which at least four people are shot, excluding the gunman, have occurred in the United States so far this year, according to data from the Gun Violence Archive.
